Harlem: Central Renaissance

Harlem(220 SW Ankeny St.) first opened as a
hip-hop speakeasy that served deep-fried hot dogs out of its front
window. The beats there shook the quieter acts next door at Valentine’s
into fits, and girls with door-knocker earrings formed lines halfway to
the oyster bar on high-profile nights. It closed almost immediately. The
new version, which reopened in May minus one owner, is more under the
radar, a rough-around-the-edges DJ boutique incongruous in Portland but
reminiscent of places in Chicago, New York and Detroit. As opposed to
previous tenant Central, there are no fancy cocktails—notwithstanding a
six-deep selection of flavored Stoli. The booze selection is basic, the
mostly domestic beer selection even more so. But the tiny space hidden
behind Koi Fusion boasts one of the deeper DJ rosters in the city and
one of the deeper social Rolodexes among the indie-EDM/hip-hop party
set, with a style-conscious crowd that looks more big-city than
small-city. A huge mural by New York artist-DJ John P. Dessereau (part
owner of the bar) shows a man seemingly being devoured by a psychedelic
turkey. The Wave::Vibe night on Tuesdays, with DJs Tyler Tastemaker and
Beyonda, looks particularly promising. This is, perhaps, the Harlem that
Bill Clinton moved into, smiling, waving to the crowds, thinking the
whole time about all that nookie he was going to get on private planes.